The organisers of the Indian Grand Prix claim to have agreed terms with Bernie Ecclestone to hold a race in 2010. One of two sites near New Delhi will be chosen for the race.

It is the latest in a string of new circuits set to join the calendar in forthcoming years. Next year new venues in Singapore and Spain (Valencia) will join the calendar, followed by Abu Dhabi in 2009, then India and South Korea in 2010.

It remains to be seen whether the pressure of accommodating these new events will force existing races off the calendar. The United States Grand Prix will be dropped next year (although Ecclestone is, not for the first time, evaluating the possibility of holding a race in New York) and the British and French rounds are believed to be under threat. Links below.

I think a 20-race calendar is an inevitability. However, even then Silverstone will still be struggling to get on and stay on. There’s 5 new rounds coming over the next three seasons, and even if Bernie gives up on the USA (seems unlikely) that still gives 21 slots. I suspect France and Britain will be railroaded into some sort of alternate-year race deal, a bit like Fuji/Suzuka and Hockenheim/Nurburgring have ended up pursuing, unless Bernie decides there’s other tracks he doesn’t like anymore.

they had to build the infrastructure from scratch even in Shanghai … they did, beautiful hypermodern race track, somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of 20million people city. But they forgot, that people also need to be able to get there, and when they get there, they sometime may want to eat some decent food… so my advice for India is, send somebody to Shanghai, and learn, how NOT TO DO IT…

Do you really think Silverstone is under threat? We in Brazil use to believe that Silverstone, Monza and Monte Carlo are “untouchable temples of motorsport”, that would never be excluded from the calendar.
But considering that Spa, the drivers’ favorite, is constantly droping and coming back, everything is possible.

Daniel, I agree, and while I’ve never thought Silverstone was as great as the other circuits you listed, it’s one of the most famous, and not having it on the calender would be odd indeed. Britain has contributed as much to the advancement of motor racing (especially F1!)as any nation on earth, and the idea of not having an annual British GP, or even sharing with France, is simply nonsense.

But with Bernie in charge no race is safe anymore. As a Canadian I should be grateful that our GP is the only F1 race in North America, and will likely stay on the calender as long as that is the case.

India next…….to be burned by Bernie. Bernie is a BUSINESSMAN….racing is only a field in which he makes money. Look at the Stands in Turkey, huge blocks of unsold seats, Bahrain they gave away 35000 complimentary tickets to fill the stands. Shanghai no different, India next. Bernie doesn’t make his money on gate tickets, he’s paid up front by the event promoter.
Silverstone packs the stands but it’s what Bernie gets from the BRDC that counts. The USA had the largest attendence and that didn’t save them either.
Who ever will or can pay the most gets the race ……. it’s BUSINESS……..NOT SPORT.